President Obama called for a cease fire between Hamas and Israel, playing into the Hamas-driven narrative that “civilian” deaths are out of control.

Hamas claims that every death is a civilian death. Many of its fighters are, in fact, civilians who attack other civilians for political gain. By claiming that all deaths are civilian deaths, Hamas is in effect calling itself a terrorist organization.

Depending on the conditions the hapless Secretary Kerry would impose on Israel, a cease-fire could represent a victory for Hamas. The terrorist group is increasingly isolated from the Arab world. A cease fire would protect Hamas from the total destruction it now faces.

While Israel has made every effort to protect civilians, Hamas has made every effort to use civilians for its own protection. The civilian death toll would be significantly lower if Hamas weren’t putting civilians in harm’s way on purpose to get them killed.

“As I’ve said many times,” said Obama, “Israel has a right to defend itself against rocket and tunnel attacks from Hamas, and as a result of its operations Israel has already done significant damage to Hamas’ terrorist infrastructure in Gaza.”

“I’ve also said, however,” said Mr. Obama, citing himself as an authority, “that we have serious concerns about the rising number of Palestinian civilian deaths and the loss of Israeli lives. And that is why it has to be our focus and the focus of the international community to bring about a cease-fire that ends the fighting and that can stop the deaths of innocent civilians, both in Gaza, and in Israel.”